Of a Cat and a Dog
by Nova Mirage
Summary: 'It started off as a mere interest between the two. It was nothing special, just a casual meeting at a reunion. Saladin found the dog odd and playful, while Arnold found the cat curious and a bit aloof. Instantly, he wanted to change that about the feline, as he believed that Saladin would be a good friend.'/ One-shot for Leah Sora-Parker's Oddest Couples Contest (Saladin/Arnold)


Disclaimer:_ As awesome as it would be, I do not own The 39 Clues or anything else mentioned in here that I don't own._

* * *

It started off as a mere interest between the two. It was nothing special, just a casual meeting at a reunion. Saladin found the dog odd and playful, while Arnold found the cat curious and a bit aloof. Instantly, he wanted to change that about the feline, as he believed that Saladin would be a good friend.

It wasn't that Saladin was trying to act that way, though. Arnold was foreign to him, and he needed to get used to the canine.

The rest of their day was spent socializing with each other, and once Saladin was more comfortable with Arnold, playing around.

Both were disappointed when their time together was up.

* * *

The next year, they were up to the same things.

"I wonder what's with those two," Amy whispered to her brother, gazing at Saladin and Arnold.

"I have no idea. They seem like their good buds, though," Dan replied, his gaze fixed upon the same thing as Amy's. "Good for them; at least some people- er, beings in our family are friendly. Who says that cats and dogs can't get along?"

"Almost everyone."

* * *

During the Clue Hunt, the two animals were rather sad that they were on opposite teams. Saladin didn't like working against his friend, and the same could be said for Arnold. It wasn't right; friends weren't meant to oppose each other. They were supposed to help one another. Bonds and friends were better than feuds and enemies, right?

Why was it that their owners couldn't see that?

* * *

At the reunion following the Hunt, Saladin and Arnold were more than elated to see each other. The two frolicked ecstatically with each other for a while, but Saladin eventually wandered off to torture Ian.

Arnold didn't like this one bit.

Saladin was _his _friend, not the human with the funny accent's friend. Why was his feline friend wasting their time with the human? Did he not care about him anymore?

The dog knew it was silly to think these things, but he couldn't help it. They had always spent their time together when they got the chance, but now the cat was abandoning him.

But that was far from the truth, though Arnold didn't know it. Saladin merely hated Ian and wished to irk him. There were no other feelings toward the raven-haired human; loathing and loathing only. It wasn't as if Saladin no longer wished to spend time with his friend, but he thought that he Arnold were close enough that the dog would understand.

Both of them were incorrect.

But maybe it was this reunion that did it, with the joy of seeing each other again. Or perhaps it had been growing over time, and was only now noticeable. No matter which way it happened, one thing was for certain: slowly, the two pets were falling in love with each other.

Unfortunately for them, though, jealousy was setting in earlier that in should and obscuring the truth of their feelings. Saladin and Arnold were being driven apart.

At the next reunion, both of the pets spent the majority of their time with their families. Saladin wasn't sure why Arnold was avoiding him and not spending time with him, but two could play at that game. Their owners noticed, and were quite surprised.

"Why aren't they playing together like they normally do?" Hamilton asked, watching Arnold play with his sisters. Saladin sat on Dan's lap, seemingly paying no attention the canine.

"I have no idea. You think something happened between them?" Dan joked and lightly stroked Saladin while he said this.

The Holt just shrugged.

* * *

Next year, the same thing happened. The Cahills and Holts were beginning to grow a bit worried, as the two animals had been friends for years but were now avoiding each other. So when the Cahills that had attended the reunion went to do a family activity, they left Saladin and Arnold in the mansion. (They had left someone there to take care of them, though

The two pets regarded each other warily. Now that they were alone, it was rather hard to avoid each other, even though they were in a mansion. Saladin knew that Arnold was there, and the canine knew the cat was there. Things were a bit awkward for them.

But as they sat there in the same room, they realized they didn't want things to be uncomfortable between them. They wished for the strangeness to be gone, as they both preferred to be friendly to each other (perhaps a bit more than that, too).

So their broken bond healed, but neither was completely satisfied.

Cautiously, Saladin nuzzled the dog. Arnold let out a surprised yip, unsure of how to respond. Sure, he liked the feline in that way, but he never expected Saladin would like him back.

The cat let out a small meow and blinked at the dog, waiting for his response. Arnold nudged Saladin, letting him know that he felt the same way.

And thus began their relationship.

* * *

_Meh. I think this started out as a good idea... But failed. Oh well. This, after all, was pretty much the first romance thing I've written, so I didn't expect to do well on it. :P_


End file.
